Utilizations of the hydrogen energy have become increasingly widespread around the world. Hydrogen fuel cell is one of the most important methods for using the hydrogen energy. Because of the risk of hydrogen explosion, safety issue of hydrogen becomes the major factor for deciding whether the hydrogen energy can be effectively utilized.
Currently, a solid state hydrogen storage method (which stores hydrogen by using a hydrogen storage metal) is a relatively safe technique that can effectively and safely absorb the hydrogen gas and prevent the risk of hydrogen leakage. However, because the hydrogen storage metal is relatively high in cost, the overall cost will be significantly increased if the entire hydrogen storage system is made of the hydrogen storage metal.
Further, the conventional technology generally includes two methods for discharging the leaked hydrogen gas, which are provided as follows. The first method is to provide an open environment and dissipate the leaked hydrogen gas to the open environment by utilizing an exhaust blower. Yet, the first method cannot be used if the open environment cannot be provided. Furthermore, the leaked hydrogen gas is prone to friction with the exhaust blower to thereby cause fire explosion. Also, if the leaked gas is farther away from the exhaust blower, an issue where the leaked hydrogen gas is discharged slowly may arise.
The second method is to burn the leaked hydrogen gas with assistance of the oxygen gas, so as to transform the leaked hydrogen gas into water. Nonetheless, this method is inconvenient since burning the hydrogen gas requires additional supply of the oxygen gas or air. Furthermore, the combustion reaction will generate high temperature, which can also lead to risks. Worse yet, the requirement of cooling equipment will increase the overall cost instead.
In addition, with popularization of the hydrogen energy technology, the chance of using the hydrogen energy in the closed environment is also increasingly higher. Therefore, it has become one of the research trends for the hydrogen energy technology as to how to safely utilize the hydrogen energy in the closed environment.